The Anti-Washers: Why Anti-Vaccers Aren’t Allowed to be Insulted by Accusations That They Cause Outbreaks

A tragic and preventable story has repeatedly played itself out over the past several years. In various countries, people have been refusing vaccines, and as the vaccination rates dropped, outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases began to appear. During these outbreaks, children needlessly suffered, acquired life altering debilities, and even died. Scientists, doctors, and the media all place the blame for these outbreaks squarely on the shoulders of the anti-vaccers, which inevitably evokes a strong reaction from the anti-vaccine movement, with its followers becoming offended and irate over these “insulting” accusations. The reality is, however, that these accusations are completely merited as I will attempt to prove via an analogy.

Let’s talk about hand washing for a minute. Like vaccines, it revolutionized medicine, drastically reduced infection rates, and dramatically increased the average life span. Also, like vaccinations, it doesn’t work 100% of the time. Washing your hands regularly greatly reduces your chance of getting sick, but it doesn’t eliminate it altogether. Your odds of being healthy dramatically go up, however, when everyone around you also washes their hands because this reduces their chance of getting sick, thus reducing the chance that they will spread the disease to you (again, very much like vaccines).

Now, let’s suppose that a group of “thinking parents” decided that washing their hands was “unnatural,” and soap actually contained harmful chemicals and was just a big conspiracy by soap manufactures to make money. After all, if God had wanted them to wash their hands, surely he would have given them a soap gland in their wrist that produces soap naturally. So they decide to rely on their bodies natural defenses (after all, being exposed to all those germs builds a stronger immune system for the future). Sadly, this movement spreads and communities around the world stop washing their hands. Over time, however, a pattern emerges. All around the world in both poor and wealthy communities, whenever hand washing levels drop, disease outbreaks occur, and when you overlay a map of outbreaks with a map of areas of low hand washing levels an amazingly clear image emerges: nearly all of the outbreaks center around areas of low hand washing. However, these outbreaks don’t just affect the anti-washers. While they get sick with a much higher frequency, people around them who wash their hands still get sick from coming in contact with the anti-washers. Further, many children who are too young to wash their own hands become ill, and they tend to have the worst symptoms.

Under these circumstances, can’t we all agree that it is perfectly reasonable and fair to blame the anti-washers for these outbreaks? These outbreaks are obviously their fault, but the outbreaks of vaccine preventable disease are no different. The outbreaks consistently center around communities with low vaccination levels (Gangarosa et al. 1998; Hahne et al. 2009; Antona et al. 2013; Knol et al. 2013). They are being caused by the anti-vaccination movement, and no, anti-vaccers don’t get to be irate or offended by that accusation because they are undeniably guilty. A thief does not have the right to be offended when he is accused of stealing something. You only get to be insulted if you are innocent, and anti-vaccers are clearly guilty. Every time that vaccine rates drop, diseases come back, people get sick, and sometimes young children die. I don’t care if it is “insulting,” the truth is that anti-vaccers’ hands are covered in the blood of people who have needlessly died from preventable diseases. That’s not bullying, that’s not sensationalizing, that’s stating a scientific fact (albeit figuratively described). The anti-vaccine movement causes outbreaks which in turn cause needless suffering, life-long debilities, and even death.

Please carefully note how the measles outbreaks are centered around the communities with low vaccination rates. Image from Knol et al. 2013

Please carefully note how the measles outbreaks are centered around the communities with low vaccination rates. Image from Knol et al. 2013

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5 Responses to The Anti-Washers: Why Anti-Vaccers Aren’t Allowed to be Insulted by Accusations That They Cause Outbreaks

  1. wisdomfromthewood says:

    Wow this is such an enormous amount of bullshit. Firstly, vaccinations don’t always work. Secondly, for awhile after being vaccinated the child is more likely to make others sick around them from the very vaccine in question. Thirdly, this is like the Crusades against anyone who dares to want more complex and long term research around safety. Not just animal tests, but long term research into health and immunity both of unvaccinated and vaccinated people. How can we trust the pharmaceutical companies who have lied about taking mercury out, (they haven’t) and also have their dirty wealthy hands all over the politics of vaccination…the CDC won’t even allow into the data certain serious and proven vaccine related injuries. How is this a fair look at the safety? I would rather heal my child naturally with proven anti viral herbs that work, strengthen her immune system through having it fight off the illness. I don’t want her to have all sorts of chemicals and unnatural viruses injected so her body has to create an unnatural immune response that can’t be fought naturally and the way nature intended. If children have died it is mainly in countries without the health care resources…this is the blood that really should be on the hands of the whole world. That and the children who died who were healthy and had vaccinations…

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    • Fallacy Man says:

      There are so many factual and logical errors in your post that I am not going to deal with all of them, but here are a few highlights. Some of the others are addressed here https://thelogicofscience.com/2015/02/01/15-common-anti-vaccine-arguments-and-why-they-are-a-load-of-crap/

      “Thirdly, this is like the Crusades against anyone who dares to want more complex and long term research around safety.” We have hundreds of complex studies on the effects of vaccines on human health. I implore you, get on google scholar or pub med and see for yourself.

      2 biggest lies of the anti-vaccine movement

      “How can we trust the pharmaceutical companies who have lied about taking mercury out, (they havenā€™t) ” Seriously? Do you have any evidence of this?

      “CDC wonā€™t even allow into the data certain serious and proven vaccine related injuries” no clue what you are talking about here. Sources please.

      “I would rather heal my child naturally with proven anti viral herbs proven anti viral” there is no herb that has been proven to prevent or effectively treat viral infections. Also, this is an appeal to nature fallacy, it’s not logically valid. https://thelogicofscience.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/the-rules-of-logic-part-3-logical-fallacies/#Appeal%20to%20nature%20fallacy

      “I donā€™t want her to have all sorts of chemicals” That’s odd because do you know what herbs are made of? Chemicals. Do you know what water is made of? Chemicals. Do you know what you are made of? Chemicals. All matter is made of chemicals.

      “If children have died it is mainly in countries without the health care resources” Yeah, health care resources like vaccines! See the second half of this post.

      2 biggest lies of the anti-vaccine movement

      In summary, your post is the typical nonfactual, logically invalid, fear mongering, drivel that I have come to expect from anti-vaccers. Please come back when you have rigorous peer-reviewed research to back up your claims. Until then, I suspect that this conversation is pointless.

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      • wisdomfromthewood says:

        we all have the right to chose our own forms of medicine. My biggest issue is that everyone is being told to conform to a form that might not work for them. Herbs are more complex than “chemicals”. They have complex biochemical compounds, that fit together synergistically the way nature intended. But these vaccines have things in them that are not meant to be in a human body….here is a link by a prominent scientist that should be considered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZe99K12740#t=138

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        • Fallacy Man says:

          “They have complex biochemical compounds, that fit together synergistically the way nature intended” What??? Nature has an intention for us? This just doesn’t even make sense. You need to learn some basic chemistry. The few herbs that actually do work work entirely because of biochemistry, not some magical crap.

          “But these vaccines have things in them that are not meant to be in a human body” Are you familiar with the appeal to nature fallacy? Because your entire argument is based on it. Nature has no intention or plan for us. There is nothing that is “meant” to be in the human body.

          Regarding the video, first, nice appeal to authority fallacy. Second, yes, aluminum is toxic…in a high enough dose. The dose in vaccines is tiny. Did you know that there is more aluminum in breast milk than in vaccines?

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  2. DONALD says:

    I FEEL THE NEED TO WASH MY HANDS AFTER ALL THIS !

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